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20t Press

I am going to buy materials soon for a few projects I NEED to get done. I have to build a welding table, tube bender and 20t press. Anyways, off to the press first!

So far I am thining about 6"x6.7# channel for the vertical, top and floor beams. I have some 2x2x3/16" angle for the legs. Planning on 1/2" plate for the pressure plate and bracing in key areas. I was thinking 3/4" cold rolled steel for the adjustable pins. But I wanted to go with a 1" cold rolled driver off the jack. I just wanted a little more steel around the adjustment holes on the vertical beams.

I am planning on using a HF 20t A/O bottle jack. I can run 150psi into the jack and a second regulator for the plasma and other tools that won't run at such a high pressure. Planning to MIG everything together but I have a boatload of 1/8" and 5/32" 7018 sitting next to the rod oven.

So what say you? I looked at the crappy HF presses today and realized that the incremental cost to have a quality press with an air actuated jack is not very large.

These are just my thoughts. The only bad thing about using channel for the sides is drilling the holes nice and straight thru both webs. You will almost have to drill all of them from the flat side. That means laying out 4 sets of holes. I layed mine out with a 1/8"x3" flatbar layed out with the spacing then drilled them 5/32 and used a transfer punch to layout the posts. Keep the edge of the flatbar even with whatever end and punch away. Thats why i used angle and an ironworker and still have the flatbar pattern for the next one...Bob

Quote -- Planning on 1/2" plate for the pressure plate and bracing in key areas

If by pressure plate your refering to the top plate that the jack pushes against I would use 1". My press has a 3/4" plate that is bent from use.

Depending how good you are with the mig & what size it is, it will be your call. If it was me I would not trust it with a small mig. These things get overstressed constantly & it would not be pretty to have a weld let go when maxxed out.

Alright, so 1" pins it is. I was looking at a few presses and I liked the ones that had dual pins on each side.

It would make it much easier to have the table first, and that will probably happen first. I'm figuring out what to buy next week while I'm in the big city. Steel is WAY cheaper where I currently am located as opposed to where I live. Which is good because I'll end up with at least a half sheet of 1/4" plate that will become a tube bender after a little time on a cnc plasma table, a half sheet of 1/2" plate, plus the materials for a shop press as well as a combo cart for the stick machine and plasma and all my welding gadgets (c-clamps, grinders, consumables, rod oven, 230 and 115v power distribution, etc.)

I have debated using 2x3x3/8" angle for the vertical posts with the 3" sides touching and welded together. Or perhaps 3x3x3/8" angle for the main frame. I like that it would give me more material on the sides of the adjustment pins. I was also thinking of a staggered pressure plate with 2 layers of 1/2". With the largest contacting the top of the press frame and the smaller one below and finally with jack contacting the lower plate. I will need some arbor plates, however, and those should be 1" thick so maybe I will just buy some 1".

My mig power source is capable of 300 amps, give or take. I'm pretty decent with a mig so I would be comfortable welding it together with er70s6. Also, looking at your press frame bob I like how much adjustment there is. I think I'll talk to a local shop and see what it would cost to get 60 1" holes punched through 3/8" material.

Also, I mis-typed on my first post. I was actually thinking about 6"x8.2# or 6"x10.5# channel.

Ok, I have decided to make the vertical beams out of 2x3x3/8" angle with the 3" sides touching and welded together. I'll gusset or box the channel in a few spots to keep the beams from deflecting. I am pretty much making 6" channel. I need to get this sketched up on the computer so I can show you what I'm thinking.

Ok, I have decided to make the vertical beams out of 2x3x3/8" angle with the 3" sides touching and welded together. I'll gusset or box the channel in a few spots to keep the beams from deflecting. I am pretty much making 6" channel. I need to get this sketched up on the computer so I can show you what I'm thinking.

I know what you are thinking. It would be stronger with the 2" sides touching. Just my thoughts...Bob